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Bank Tech Asia 2017 Addresses Disruption in Banking

In a room of over 200 senior level bankers, Deputy Finance Minister I, YB Dato’ Wira Othman Aziz, made a call to Malaysian banks during his opening speech at the 9th BankTech Asia Conference & Exhibition to disrupt themselves before others do it for them.

Banks are increasingly facing pressures on their revenues, largely driven by shifting consumer demands, the rise of fintech and foreign banks getting full licences in Malaysia under the Asean Banking integration Framework.

In response to these pressueres, YB Dato’ Wira Othman Aziz said, “The new reality in banking is disruption.” He added, “I call upon the sector to rise up to the challenge by investing in technology and innovation or start evaluating commercially viable ways to collaborate with these Fintech start-ups in order to remain competitive in this new and changing landscape.”

Quoting recent studies from Gallup which states that more than half of Malaysian banking consumers are indifferent towards their primary banks, YB Dato’ Wira Othman brought attention to this point to illustrate the industry’s need for an overhaul to remain relevant.

During the same opening speech, YB Dato’ Wira Othman Aziz also stressed upon the Malaysian government’s commitment towards transforming the Financial Services sector, citing recent sweeping reforms in regulatory frameworks for fintech, equity crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending and robo-advisory, carried out by agencies under the Ministry of Finance such as Bank Negara Malaysia and Securities Commission respectively.

YB Dato’ Wira Othman Aziz also handed out awards to the winners of the Fin5ive challenge which was conducted by BankTech Asia in collaboration with global fintech matchmaking firm Matchi. The winners were: Big Data Scoring, Luminous Banking, Suitebox, Alpha Cloud Payments and Threatmark . They each represent the best in class fintech innovation in these respective categories – Financial Inclusion, Process Automation, Mobility, Payments and Security.

BankTech Asia is one of the longest running fintech and banking technology events in Asia region. With a 9-year track record in keeping bankers and fintech professionals abreast with the latest trends and threats, BankTech Asia had been hosted in several countries including Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.